When a Patient Sues You in Small Claims Court
Question: One of my former patients is suing me for $2,450 in small claims court. He's claiming that my treatment was unnecessary and possibly harmful. What should I do?
Posted in Risk Management on Thursday, January 30, 2020
Answer: Contact us at 1-800-242-4052. We can talk you through the issues and assign an attorney to assist in your defense.
While some states don't allow a defendant to be represented by an attorney in a small claims action, others do. Either way, NCMIC will assign counsel to thoroughly prepare your case for the small claims court hearing.
While these courts may be informal, your case could involve complex issues of jurisdiction, rules of evidence or procedure, and statutes of limitations. That's where the assistance of an expert attorney can really come into play. Your NCMIC-assigned attorney can deal with these issues and can also help you prepare your defense and gather expert opinions.
Remember, as with malpractice cases, any small claims court payment made by an insurance company on your behalf – no matter how small – must be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank.